1 week left until we are in my favorite month of the year! Fall is my absolute favorite season, and it’s also the time I find myself reading the most. The hubby is occupied by Football and curling up with a good book on a rainy Sunday is one of my absolute favorite pastimes. It’s also my birthday month, which means a bonus book is coming my way from BOTM!!
Before I get into my predictions, I noticed there are a ton of fantasy, mystery, thriller, and well known authors with books coming out in September. If you’re a mood reader, like me, than fall is the perfect time to read anything with a touch of magic and mysterious. I really feel that the upcoming releases are all falling into this category and you’ll notice there are quite a few Fantasy and Mysteries ,that I think would be ideal BOTM picks, listed below. Also, I have read quite a few of these already so be sure to check out my full reviews for them to see my rating.
Every month, Book of the month tries to offer up a diverse selection of books for subscribers. There is usually always one thriller/mystery pick, one romance/women’s literature pick, most months have a non-fiction or historical fiction choice, one contemporary/literary fiction pick, and one random pick, with YA or a second in any of these categories. Early releases are also quite common so I’ve taken a look at my September Most Anticipated List as well to draw up these predictions.
Whether or not these are actually picks, only time will tell. Even if they are not all or most of these are on my September Most Anticipated New Releases list, which you can see HERE! When the picks are announced and you find you have space in your box still, make sure to also check out my most recent version of BOTM Add-On recommendations HERE!
Keep in mind that these are simply predictions and books I hope get chosen. I could get these completely wrong but the anticipation and guessing is part of the fun right?!
Mystery & Thriller
I had a difficult time narrowing down Mystery and Thriller picks this month. There are just so many coming out in September that sound fantastic. While my top prediction for this month’s thriller pick is My Sweet Girl, both it and Never Saw Me Coming sound right up BOTM’s alley. Both have fairly great reviews , female protagonists, and are DEBUTs! I could also see Dark and Shallow Lies being a pick as it’s another DEBUT, but it also would be a great YA pick. Lastly, I added Lisa Jewell’s newest release The Night She Disappeared on the list, though I don’t think it very likely.
I was lucky to get an Advanced Copy of Never Saw Me Coming, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story follows 3 diagnostic college students as they find out who is trying to murder them. This has all the feels of being True Crime with some actual research around the term Psychopathy. It was a solid thriller read.
Lisa Jewell’s newest book The Night She Disappeared also seems like a good contender for BOTM, however I would guess this would be an add-on pick at best, since Jewell is such a well known author. I also received an Advanced Copy of this book, and while I enjoyed it, it was not my favorite Lisa Jewell book.
THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED REVIEW
My last option was Dark and Shallow Lies which was a phenomenal YA fantasy/ mystery combo. Set at the mouth of the Mississippi, it has all the witchy vibes, tons of suspense, and is also a DEBUT! I flew through this story and if you enjoy darker YA stories than this is a perfect read for you.
Literary & Contemporary Fiction
There were not a ton of Literary and Contemporary Fiction options I thought would be BOTM material this month. However Itami’s debut Fault Lines is a literary examination of marriage, family, and truly knowing oneself and is being compared to quite a few previous BOTM picks. Because of this it’s my number one prediction for September.
I also threw in L.A. Weather which has been on my radar for the past few months. Hispanic Heritage Month starts midway through September and I could see BOTM picking Escandio’s newest Contemporary fiction up. It’s more of a family saga and based on the summary reminds me a bit of We Are the Brennen’s & Good Company. No idea if it will actually be similar to those as I have yet to read it.
Historical Fiction
I know everyone is talking about Anthony Doerr’s newest release Cloud Cuckoo Land so I had to put it on my predictions. However, sitting in at over 600 pages, it’s a hefty book and I’m not certain that BOTM will pick it up. I have yet to finish my Advanced Copy of this massive book, but am hoping to finish it soon. However, I have read about 120pages and I’m really enjoying it so far, but only time will tell if I love it or not.
My main prediction for a Historical Fiction this month is Lauren Groff’s Matrix. It’s one of my most Anticipated releases for September and if it’s anything like her book, Fates and Furies, I know this one will be a popular pick.
Fantasy
Just like my Mystery and Thriller predictions, I simply could not narrow down this month’s Fantasy picks. Something about the start of fall that just makes me want to read all the magic books. Half of my fantasy picks this month are YA Fantasy books, but don’t let that scare you away from them. Three of them are part of a series, and one is a DEBUT.
My number 1 prediction, is Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, which is part of the Practical Magic Series. With an early October release date, this would be BOTM’s early release for September. Hoffman is a repeat author so the likelihood that this will be a main pick does go down a bit, however I’m holding out hope!
Alright, I’ll be straight with ya’ll. I think I disliked No Gods, No Monsters. I love the premise but 3/4th of the book is spent on character building and even after finishing the book, I have no idea what’s going on. It’s the first in a series and while I originally thought it sounded very BOTM, as it’s extremely inclusive, literary, and has a POC author. However, I feel that this book has a very specific audience in mind and will be a huge hit or miss for readers.
I’d be very surprised if The Last Graduate pops up as an add-on in September. But I loved this books and am really holding out for a copy to match my Deadly Education BOTM edition. If you enjoyed the first book in this series, than you will continue to love the story in Novik’s latest installment. Fair warning, that cliff hanger will get you!
Romance
Portrait of a Scotsman is the only BOTM Romance pick I want to entertain this month! I have BOTM copies of both Bringing down the Duke and A Rogue of Ones Own. At this point having Evie Dunmore’s newest release as pick even as an Add-On is a NEED not a want.
Non-Fiction
We have yet to see many non fiction picks this year and I’d really like to see one in September’s line up. Beautiful Country is getting rave reviews and is a DEBUT. It sounds absolutely phenomenal and even it doesn’t end up being a BOTM pick, I’m still going to be picking it up.
I hope you found a book that you are truly excited about in this post. Let me know which other new releases you are excited for this month or that you’re hoping are BOTM picks, by commenting below or by messaging me on Instagram @speakingof_books. Don’t forget to follow me to get weekly updates and new reviews!
Happy Reading!
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